Children&#39;s garment having lower body opening

ABSTRACT

The various embodiments include a children&#39;s garment having a selectively re-sealable lower body opening to enable changing of a child&#39;s diaper. The lower body opening may have an apex on the lower area of a garment torso portion and may extend continuously downward along the inner regions of a first and second leg portion. A fastener may provide a boundary for the leg opening and facilitate quick opening and closing of the lower body opening. When in a deployed state the lower body opening provides an enlarged aperture in the crotch region of the garment, thereby enabling access to a child&#39;s diaper region. Areas of the child other than the diaper region may remain covered to reduce exposure to the surrounding environment.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 12/721,610 entitled “Children's Garment” filed Mar.11, 2010, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference.

BACKGROUND

Small children, particularly infants, may have difficulty regulatingtheir own body temperature. To promote body heat retention, smallchildren may be swaddled in blankets or dressed in fully coveringclothing. Children's garments having full length arm or leg portions,such as those resembling “long underwear” may be utilized to cover achild's lower extremities, torso, and upper limbs. In addition, suchchildren's garments may incorporate integrated foot portions to keep thechildren's feet warm.

Full-length garments work well for trapping heat, but may be difficultto get on and off. Manipulation of full-length garments may beparticularly cumbersome when changing an infant's diaper, because thegarment may need to be fully removed for the diaper changing and thendonned again after the changing is culminated. The full removal of agarment may leave the child exposed to cold or inclement weatherconditions during the diaper changing process. In addition, in instanceswhere the child is sleeping, the full removal of the garment may awakenthe child.

SUMMARY

The apparatuses of various embodiments provide a children's garment.Embodiments may include a torso portion having a neck opening, a firstsleeve portion and a second sleeve portion extending from opposing sidesof an upper area of the torso portion and configured to fit a child'sarms, a first leg portion and a second leg portion extending from alower area of the torso portion and configured to fit a child's legs,wherein the first leg portion and second leg portion meet at a crotchregion of the torso portion; and a fastener configured to selectivelyseal a lower body opening disposed on the first and second leg portionsand an apex on the lower area of a front side of the torso portion,wherein the fastener is disposed away from the outer seam of each of thefirst leg portion and second leg portion.

Some embodiments may include a flap portion formed when the lower bodyopening is configured in a deployed state, wherein the flap portion isdefined by the boundary of the lower body opening and configured to openoutward toward the first leg portion and second leg portion. In suchembodiments, the ratio of the width of the flap portion to the width ofa corresponding section of the torso portion from a first side of thetorso portion to an opposing side of the torso portion may besubstantially 1:2. Alternatively, in such embodiments, the ratio of theheight of the torso portion to the height of the flap portion may besubstantially 2:1.

Some embodiments may include a first foot portion at the end of thefirst leg portion, and a second foot portion at the end of the secondleg portion

In some embodiments, the fastener may be disposed substantially closerto the inner area of the first and second leg portions than the outerarea.

In some embodiments, the ratio of the overall length of the fastener tothe length of a leg portion inseam to may be substantially 3:1.

In some embodiments, the ratio of the height of the torso portion to theoverall length of the fastener may be substantially 1:2.5.

In some embodiments, the flap has a trapezoidal shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitutepart of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments of theinvention, and together with the general description given above and thedetailed description given below, serve to explain the features of theinvention.

FIG. 1 is a frontal view of a children's garment having a lower bodyopening in a zipped configuration, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a frontal view of a children's garment having a lower bodyopening in an unzipped configuration, according to various embodiments.

FIG. 3 is a frontal view of a children's garment having a lower bodyopening, according to various embodiments.

FIGS. 4A-B show frontal views of a children's garment having a lowerbody opening according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The various embodiments will be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numberswill be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.References made to particular examples and implementations are forillustrative purposes, and are not intended to limit the scope of theinvention or the claims.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any implementation described herein as“exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred oradvantageous over other implementations.

As referred to herein, the terms “child”, “infant”, and “baby” aresynonymous and include a human child, baby, infant, or newborn.

The term “garment” may include an article of clothing worn by a child.“Garment” may include but is not limited to a “onesie,” sleeper, romper,pajamas, bodysuit, pants or a combination of articles of clothing, whichcovers the lower body of the wearer.

As used herein, the term “flap” may include a section of a garment thatmay be selectively and partially disconnected from surrounding materialalong a portion of the periphery of the section. A flap is not limitedto a particular means of connection between the section periphery andsurrounding material, nor is the term limited to any particular shape orsize, except as described herein.

In various embodiments a children's garment may have a re-sealable lowerbody opening configured to enable access to a child's lower torso andgroin or crotch region. In some embodiments, the lower body opening maybe defined by a fastener that extends from the first leg to the secondleg by way of the garment crotch region. Unfastening the fastenertransitions the garment into a deployed state and may result in theexposure of the portions of the child disposed within the lower bodyopening. For example, the inner calves, knees, thighs, and crotch regionof the child may be exposed in whole or in part when the lower bodyopening is in a deployed state.

The lower body opening may be sufficiently sized when deployed, topermit insertion of one or both of a caregiver's hands into the interiorregion of the garment. Hands may be inserted through the opening tofacilitate removal and replacement of a diaper or undergarment. Thegarment may remain on the child during the diaper changing process.Similarly, the child's upper and lower limbs may remain comfortablywithin the respective arm and leg portions of the garment during diaperchanging, thereby limiting exposure of the limits to environmentalconditions and minimizing disturbances to the child.

FIG. 1 illustrates various embodiments of a children's garment 100. Withreference to FIG. 1 the children's garment may have a torso portion 115that may cover a child's neck, upper and lower abdomen. A first sleeveportion 112 and a second sleeve portion 114 may extend from opposingsides of an upper area of the torso portion 115. The sleeve portions112, 114 may correspond to a child's left and right arm respectively andmay be long sleeved, % length sleeved, or short sleeved. Similarly, afirst leg portion 116 and second leg portion 118 may extend outward froma lower area of the torso portion 115. The first and second leg portions116, 118 may correspond to a child's left and right leg respectively. Insome embodiments, the leg portions 116, 118 may culminate in footportions 132, 134.

The children's garment may have a lower body opening 124 bounded by afastener 126, which may extend from an apex 127 on the front of thelower area of the torso portion 115, down each leg portion 116, 118. Thesections of the lower body opening 124 may run along the leg portions116, 118. In some embodiments, the lower body opening portions 124running along the leg portions 116, 118 may lie along an area of the legportions other than the outer leg seams. In some embodiments, theportions of the lower body opening 124 running along the leg portions116, 118 may lie substantially closer to an inseam of the garment (e.g.,the area that corresponds to a child's inner thigh, knee, and/or calf)than to an outside seam.

The lower body opening 124 may be an enlarged aperture in the children'sgarment 100 that may be selectively opened and closed using a fastener126 such as a zipper, snaps, hook and loop fasteners, or the like. Thelower body opening 124 may extend continuously up the first leg portion116, to an apex 127 in the lower area of the torso portion 115 and backdown the opposing leg portion 118. A flap 128 may be defined by theopening, the flap 128 being the section of the torso portion 115 lyingbelow the faster 126. This flap 128 is the section of the children'sgarment that may be folded away from the rest of the garment 100, towardthe leg portions 116, 118, when the lower body opening 124 is in thedeployed/open state. The shape of the flap may be defined by theconfiguration and position of the fastener 126 along the children'sgarment. In various embodiments, the flap may have a parabolic shape asshown in FIG. 1. Alternative embodiments may include flap regions havingtrapezoidal shapes, an exemplary illustration of which is shown bydotted line in FIG. 4B. In some embodiments, the flap may have anovular, rectangular, triangular, or other geometric shape. When the flapis folded down or pulled away from the children's garment, the child'sgroin region and some interior portions of the child's legs may beexposed to enable insertion of a caregiver's hands and removal of adiaper.

In various embodiments, the children's garment 100 may include a collar113. The collar may extend from the neck opening of the torso portion115. In some embodiments, the collar 113 may be merely an edge trim forthe neck opening. In some embodiments the collar 113 may be of a“turtleneck” configuration to increase body heat retention. The collar113 may contain elastic material configured to stretch as a child's headpasses through the neck opening, or may have a fastener to enableopening and closing of the collar 113.

In various embodiments, the children's garment 100 may have a frontopening 120 that is selectively opened via a fastener 122 such asbutton, hook and loop fasteners, snaps, or zippers. The front openingmay extend from the top of the collar 113 or neck opening, to an areaalong the front of the torso portion 115 above or adjacent to the lowerbody opening fastener 124 and apex 127. The front opening 120 may beunfastened and opened to facilitate insertion of a child into thegarment 100 in a “feet first” configuration. Alternatively, the lowerbody opening 124 may be placed in a deployed state to facilitateinsertion of a child into the garment 100 in a “arms first”configuration Once the child is seated within the garment 100, the frontopening 120 may be refastened to cover the child's chest area.

FIG. 2 illustrates various embodiments of a children's garment 100. Withreference to FIGS. 1-2, the children's garment 100 may have a lower bodyopening 124 bounded by a fastener 126. In FIG. 2, the lower body opening124 is shown in a deployed state, exposing a portion of the garment 100interior. The lower body opening 124 may have an upper edge 124 a and alower edge 124 b that meet at opposing ends of the lower body opening124, such as on leg portions 116, 118. In various embodiments, the lowerbody opening 124 transitions into the deployed state upon unfastening ofthe fastener 124, such as by unzipping a zipper (e.g. moving the zipperfrom one end of a zipper chain to another end). One or more of acaregiver's hands may be inserted into the deployed lower body opening124 and may manipulate, remove, and replace the diaper or undergarmentof a child wearing the garment 100. The child's arms, legs, and torsomay remain within the garment during the diaper changing process. Thelower body opening 124 may be transitioned to the closed state uponresealing of the fastener 126 (e.g. moving the zipper from the secondend back to a first end of the zipper chain).

FIG. 3 illustrates various embodiments of a children's garment 100. Withreference to FIGS. 1-3, the children's garment 100 may have aselectively opened lower body opening 124 that may be deployedconcurrent to deployment of a front opening 120. In various embodiments,the front opening may be centrally located, dividing the front of thetorso portion 115 into two halves. The front opening 120 may be opened,such as by unfastening snaps or buttons, to enable insertion or removalof a child from the garment 100. Further, the front opening 120 mayprovide access to the upper body of a child wearing the garment 100, andthus may be useful for the application of lotion or topical medication,or for cleaning a child after feeding.

FIGS. 4A-B illustrate various embodiments of a children's garment 100.With reference to FIGS. 1-4B, the children's garment 100 may be providedin a variety of design configurations and sizes depending on the size ofthe child to be placed in the garment, but the position and proportionsof the lower body opening 124 may remain substantially unaltered inorder to insure that unnecessary exposure of the child's skin to theexternal environment is limited. For example, FIG. 4A shows anembodiment of a children's garment 100 that does not have footedportions at the end of leg portions 116, 118. Nor does the illustratedembodiment have a front opening. In various embodiments, the lower bodyopening 124 may be unfastened, and the garment lowered over a child'shead such that the child's head and torso pass through the lower bodyopening 124, in the same manner as a shirt. Once the child's arms arepositioned within sleeve portions 112, 114, the child's legs may beplaced within the leg portions 116, 118, and the lower body opening 124resealed.

To prevent unnecessary exposure of a child's skin during the diaperchanging process, the garment 100 provides a lower body opening 124 thatruns along the areas of the leg portions that lie interior to the outerseams and along the crotch, thereby leaving the torso and outer legscovered. Caregivers may reach into the lower body opening to remove andreplace a diaper or undergarment, while the child's lower torso remainspositioned between the front and back of the torso portion 115. Invarious embodiments, only those areas of the child's skin lying belowthe flap may be exposed when the lower body opening 124 is a deployedstate.

In various embodiments and with reference to FIG. 4A, the ratio betweenthe overall length of the fastener 126 defining the length of the lowerbody opening 124 (e.g., length of zipper fastener 126) and a leg portion116 inseam measurement F and may be substantially 3:1. For example, achildren's garment according to the various embodiments may have anoverall lower body opening length of 26.5 and a leg portion inseammeasuring 8.5 inches, producing a ratio of 3.12:1. Embodiments of thechildren's garment without foot portions may have lower body opening 124to leg portion 116 inseam measurement F ratios substantially equal to3:1 but slightly under, such as 2.9:1. Thus, deviance from the 3:1 ratiomay be slightly greater for embodiments having foot portions as comparedto those without foot portions. Utilizing this measurement ratio,results in a lower body opening that may be sufficiently sized toaccommodate at least one hand of a user and permit the changing of adiaper, while limiting the exposure of the child's skin to the outsideair.

Similarly, the shape and size of the lower body opening may beconfigured to permit hand insertion without exposing the child's entirelower abdomen. In various embodiments, with reference to FIG. 4B, theratio of the width, as measured from one outer seam to the opposingouter seam of the corresponding torso portion C of the garment to thewidth D of the flap 128 may be substantially 2:1. In an illustrativeexample, the width across a trapezoidal-shaped flap 128 such as thatshown in FIG. 4B, may measure 4.5 inches, and the measurement of thewidth across the torso portion from one side seam to an opposing sideseam may be 9 inches.

The goal of limiting body heat loss and skin exposure may be furtheredby limiting the extent of the lower body opening across the garment 100.In various embodiments, with reference to FIG. 4A, the ratio of theoverall height of the torso portion A, as measured from the crotch seamto the upper edge of the neck opening or collar 113 to the flap 128height B as measured from the crotch seam to the apex 127 of the lowerbody opening 124 in the closed state may be substantially 2:1. Forexample, the flap height B may be 5.5 inches and the overall torsoheight A may be 11 inches. This ratio of measurements may reduce thelikelihood that the lower body opening 124 may extend over the child'supper torso when deployed, as access to this area is unnecessary duringthe diaper changing process.

In various embodiments, the lower body opening 124 may be limited inshape and size to reduce the lower body opening 124 encroachment intothe torso portion 115. Thus, the ratio of the overall height of thetorso portion A to the overall length of the lower body opening 124(e.g., length of fastener zipper 126) may be substantially 1:2.5. Forexample, the aforementioned garment having a overall torso height A of11 inches and an overall length of lower body opening length 124 of 26.5inches result in a ratio of 1:2.4. Restricting the ratio of the overalltorso height A to the overall length of lower body opening 124 mayreduce the likelihood that the opening will extend farther into thetorso portion than is necessary to ensure access to a child'sundergarment region.

Further, the sections of the lower body opening 124 extending down theleg portions 116, 118 may be positioned along the areas of the legportions other than at the outer seam, and in some embodiments may besubstantially closer to the leg portion inseam area than to the legportion outer seam. Inner leg portion area may include the areasurrounding an inseam extending from the crotch to a lower edge of a legportion 116, 118, or may include an imaginary line denoting the innermost length of the leg portion. In an exemplary embodiment a distance E,between the lower body opening 124 section lying along an upper area ofleg portion 116 and an outside seam may be substantially 3 inches. Sucha configuration may leave the top and outside areas of a child's legcovered during the diaper changing process, and expose only the innerthigh/knee/calf areas. The fastener 126 of the lower body opening 124thus is configured to be disposed along the inner leg portion of legportion 116, the apex 127 disposed in the lower area of the torsoportion 115, and back down the inner leg portion 118. By preventing thefastener 126 of the lower body opening 124 to be disposed away from theouter hip portion of the child, the amount of child's body exposed maybe minimized.

In various embodiments, the lower body opening 124 may truncate at loweredges of each leg portion 116, 118 as shown in FIG. 4. The lower bodyopening may also extend to the bottom of each foot portion 134, 136 inembodiments having foot portions. Alternatively, the lower body opening124 may extend partly down the interior of each leg portion 116, 118. Itmay be advantageous for the sections of the lower body opening 124extending down the leg portions 116, 118 to extend far enough to permitthe flap to fold down and lie flat on an underlying surface. Forexample, in an embodiment of the children's garment 100 having footportions 134, 136, the lowermost point of the lower body opening 124 maylie between 0 and 5 inches up each leg portion 116, 118 as measured fromthe bottom of each foot portion 134, 136.

In various embodiments, a children's garment 100 having a lower bodyopening 124 may be provided with a protective fabric covering 130 alongthe interior of the fastener 126. The fabric cover 130, shown in FIG. 3,may provide a buffer between the wearer's skin and the fastener 126,thereby reducing the risk of skin abrasion and irritation.

The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended toprovide any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the following claims and theprinciples and novel features disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A children's garment, comprising: a torso portionhaving a neck opening; a first sleeve portion and a second sleeveportion extending from opposing sides of an upper area of the torsoportion and configured to fit a child's arms; a first leg portion and asecond leg portion extending from a lower area of the torso portion andconfigured to fit a child's legs, wherein the first leg portion andsecond leg portion meet at a crotch region of the torso portion; and afastener configured to selectively seal a lower body opening disposed onthe first and second leg portions and an apex on the lower area of afront side of the torso portion, wherein the fastener is disposed awayfrom the outer seam of each of the first leg portion and second legportion.
 2. The children's garment of claim 1, further comprising: aflap portion formed when the lower body opening is configured in adeployed state, wherein the flap portion is defined by the boundary ofthe lower body opening and configured to open outward toward the firstleg portion and second leg portion.
 3. The children's garment of claim2, wherein the ratio of the width of the flap portion to the width of acorresponding section of the torso portion from a first side of thetorso portion to an opposing side of the torso portion is substantially1:2.
 4. The children's garment of claim 2, wherein the ratio of theheight of the torso portion to the height of the flap portion issubstantially 2:1.
 5. The children's garment of claim 1, furthercomprising: a first foot portion at the end of the first leg portion,and a second foot portion at the end of the second leg portion.
 6. Thechildren's garment of claim 1, wherein the fastener is disposedsubstantially closer to the inner area of the first and second legportions than the outer area.
 7. The children's garment of claim 1,wherein the ratio of the overall length of the fastener to the length ofa leg portion inseam to is substantially 3:1.
 8. The children's garmentof claim 1, wherein the ratio of the height of the torso portion to theoverall length of the fastener is substantially 1:2.5.
 9. The children'sgarment of claim 1, wherein the flap has a trapezoidal shape.